China protest decries eating cats

BEIJING -- A southern Chinese province must stop the “shameful” and “cruel slaughter” of cats for food, a group of more than 40 animal lovers in Beijing said Thursday as they unfurled banners in a tearful protest.

Thousands of cats across the country have been caught in the past week by traders and transported to Guangdong province to be killed for food, said the protesters gathered at the Guangdong government’s office in Beijing.

“We are very angry because the cats are being skinned and then cooked alive. We must make them correct this uncivilized behavior,” said Wang Hongyao, who represented the group in submitting a letter to the Guangdong office.

The protesters urged the provincial government to crack down on cat traders and restaurants that serve cat meat, although no law says it is illegal to eat cats.

It has long been common for cats and dogs to be eaten in some parts of China and in some other Asian countries.

The demonstrators held up banners saying “Cooking cats alive! Shame on Guangdong!” and “Resolutely oppose cruel slaughter” as they met with a representative of the Guangdong office.

Calls to the Guangdong provincial office in Beijing rang unanswered, while the government news office in the province refused to comment.

The protest was apparently in response to Chinese media reports in recent days that carried pictures of furry felines peering out through bamboo crates and metal cages, apparently en route to Guangzhou, Guangdong’s capital. Other pictures show cats being skinned in restaurant kitchens.

About 5,000 cats were sent from Nanjing to Guangzhou, while cats from Shanghai, Hangzhou and other places were also being rounded up, the Chengdu Business Daily reported last week.

The paper said people in Guangdong eat 10,000 cats a day. No reason was given for the increased media coverage, or if there has been an increase in cat meat consumption.

Many of the protesters in Beijing were retirees who said they have been caring for strays cats. The protesters said they believed that some street cats in Beijing, “especially the fat ones,” have disappeared and were likely nabbed by cat meat dealers.

“These cats, they are like our children,” said Cui Qingzhen, a 56-year-old woman who said she has been feeding street cats for six years. “We can’t let these people do this to them.”

BARBARIC. THIS IS A CAUSE OF GREAT CRUELTY. YOU ARE UNCIVILIZED AND IN A PRIMITIVE STATE SUCH SAVAGELY TO CATS AND DOGS. CATS ARE BEAUTIFUL. YOU SHOULD GET THE CATS SPAYED AND ALL THIS BREEDING WOULD STOP. CHINA IS BARBARIC. YOU ARE IN 2009, AND YOU WANT PCS AND EVERYTHING BUT YET YOU ARE STILL BARBARIC.

Dogs and cats are man’s best friends. Dogs can secure our home and our life, while cats can catch RATS. I have two Sherman Shepherds while my wife has three cats. Cantonese. Why not catch RATS and eat them?

Eating cats or dogs is certainly barbaric and incredibly cruel. People even eat monkeys in some places. However, in Western countries, people do eat the same rabbits for Easter festivities that kids in the same countries have as a pet. In a lot of places meanwhile, people have pigs as a pet, but only few people believe it's cruel to eat pig meat.

A steak of a deer is viewed to be a delicious meal in northern countries, although the sight of such a great animal is a very precious moment. There are even people who eat meat from bulls and cows...they call it "delicious steaks"... Are these animals not beautiful, and who has the right to judge that only "ugly" animals or animals that are "un-cute" can be eaten? Is that the same story as with the dogs and cats, or is it different?

There are places in Taiwan where the population of stray cats is getting out of control. These cats are a great nuisance to people who live on the ground floors, because they would climb fences to defecate in people's gardens and garages and make terrible noise at midnight, on a daily basis. They survive because there are so-called "animal lovers" who live on higher floors who feed cats with garbage. Animal lovers should take cats home and raise them in a proper manner that does not create sanitary and pollution problems for neighbors. In this situation I would strongly suggest that the authorities take steps to round up stray cats to prevent them from roaming around polluting clean neighborhoods.

hananhadow@ wrote:THIS IS SICK. I LOVE CATS. I DID WANT TO VISIT CHINA, BUT THIS HAS PUT ME OFF. A LOT OF PEOPLE I KNOW FEEL ILL OVER THIS. STOP EATING CATS, IT’S REVOLTING AND VERY BAD FOR CHINA.

I agree that is sick and it's so sad to think that it is happening. However, if you are not going to China because of this, then you should also realize that there are quite a few other countries that you will not want to visit due to the same reason...probably including Taiwan.

March 18, 2009 cigars898@

iwannawork@ wrote:I agree that is sick and it's so sad to think that it is happening. However, if you are not going to China because of this, then you should also realize that there are quite a few other countries that you will not want to visit due to the same reason...probably including Taiwan.

Lived in Taiwan for 13 years and never heard of anyone eating or wanting to eat a cat.

I am curious how many of you so-called 'cat lovers' would actually eat a cat if you had a family to support, only 1 income (maybe no income), and that was not substantial enough to feed you and your child / children? Poor people survive by any means they can, even though these ways may seem barbaric to some. The drive to survive can lead people to do things they would not normally consider doing.

myatthwin62@ wrote:Is this article another China-bashing one just like those prior to Beijing Olympics and during the Games?

Don't call us 'barbaric,' Mr. Philips or whoever you are. We have a 5,000-year civilization; how about yours?

YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS IS 0.WE HAVE A CIVILIZATION THAT YOU ZHONG GUO WANT. POP MUSIC YOUR YOUNG LIVE IN, AND FREEDOM. IF YOU ZHONG GUO, HATE US SO MUCH, WHY DO YOU APE US? YOUR BREEDING PROGRAMME IS KILLING THE WORLD.

dripfedfred7777@ wrote:I am curious how many of you so-called 'cat lovers' would actually eat a cat if you had a family to support, only 1 income (maybe no income), and that was not substantial enough to feed you and your child / children? Poor people survive by any means they can, even though these ways may seem barbaric to some. The drive to survive can lead people to do things they would not normally consider doing.

WELL THERE ARE A LOT OF POOR PEOPLE IN THE WEST AND THE USA, THEY DON’T EAT CATS. IF OLD ZHONG GUO WOULD STOP THE BREEDING PROGRAME OF PEOPLE, WHAT ARE YOU NOW 3 BILLION? AND GROWING.

I'm not a vegetarian so I don't care if some people love to eat cats or dogs...I mean, why are pigs or lambs ok but not cats? It's a cultural thing. But cruel slaughter is unacceptable. You don't have to skin and cook ALIVE an animal to eat it. Kill it quickly!

Mammals have highly developed nervous system and do feel pain as much as we do.

franckc71@ wrote:I'm not a vegetarian so I don't care if some people love to eat cats or dogs...I mean, why are pigs or lambs ok but not cats? It's a cultural thing. But cruel slaughter is unacceptable. You don't have to skin and cook ALIVE an animal to eat it. Kill it quickly!

Mammals have highly developed nervous system and do feel pain as much as we do.

As I am living exactly where this appalling cruelty is happening to cats and dogs, I would like to have a word with you all.

If anyone doubt about speaking for cats, may I tell you more about the facts? Even if I am a vegan, I cannot agree with someone who discourages speaking for cats because cows and pigs are suffering too.

First of all, these cats are different from other animals as they are taken of care by their owners, many of them senior citizens. The cats are treated as friends and family members by their owners. These cats owners are fighting with the criminals in China, and sadly they are not strong enough because the lack of the laws to protect pets. On Mar 22, some senior citizens were beaten to injury by cat stealers just because they wanted their cats back!

So please do not make any comments against those who care for cats. Do not support those criminals stealing cats.

Secondly, the killers tortured the cats and dogs as much as they can before they die, in believe that the more intense the torturing, the more it will taste fresh. I just cannot imagine why these evil things can exist in our society and still call themselves human beings.

Thirdly, it is nothing to do with the property. You know, it is not the case. Those animal rights supporters, including myself, are not really middle-class, but employees from different walks of life, and among these groups are many senior people, trying very hard to fight against the cruelty. But those cat eaters are not the poor. Many of them are well-off, officials who indulge their disgusting appetites. They plunder the tax payers' hard earned money to pay for their luxury. This explains why all these cats and many wild life too are stolen and shipped to my city, where many people are getting rich in the last decade as a result of rapid economic development. And in other cities this is not common.

Also please keep in mind that this is nothing to do with culture or racism but with real compassion. Chinese culture never ever allows this cruelty on animals, so this is but an excuse for the killers.

BTW, we saw animals tortured more frequently now. Several days ago, a stray dog was given a mercy killing because her wounds were too severe due to a deliberate torture for fun.

Please, fellow Chinese, stop arguing for fame now. If you really care about the fame of our nation, please say no to the cruelty which indeed humiliates us all.

myatthwin62@ wrote:Is this article another China-bashing one just like those prior to Beijing Olympics and during the Games?

Don't call us 'barbaric,' Mr. Philips or whoever you are. We have a 5,000-year civilization; how about yours?

Which includes decimating your own people...let alone cats...

Why not bring in a law to kill the animals humanely? Your country might not then lose so much face.

May 7, 2009 sultan333@

hanaphillips@ wrote:YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS IS 0.WE HAVE A CIVILIZATION THAT YOU ZHONG GUO WANT. POP MUSIC YOUR YOUNG LIVE IN, AND FREEDOM. IF YOU ZHONG GUO, HATE US SO MUCH, WHY DO YOU APE US? YOUR BREEDING PROGRAMME IS KILLING THE WORLD.

It is very upsetting to hear and see this happen (I have visited China and seen some quite unpleasant things in regards to animals). I agree with a previous writer that as much as I dislike the killing of cats and dogs for food, if it can be done humanely then I would be more understanding. However, when I hear of deliberate torture of animals because people 'think' it will improve the flavor, that enrages me. I am extremely happy, therefore, to know that many Chinese also think this practice and the eating of cats and dogs unnecessary. Just to know that there are Chinese out there fighting for the rights of those animals gives me hope!!! Good luck to all of you, you should all know that we support you in your quest to protect the rights of these wonderful animals.

I hope these cats and dogs will stop suffering. The government of Beijing please have a heart for these ANIMALS. Put a law to stop these KILLINGS. These animals have no VOICE but we are the only voice that can speak for these creatures. Don't stop this campaign, let's keep fighting until Asian countries stop this cruelty to animals... love to cats and dogs.

June 22, 2009 dpptaiwan.co@

iwannawork@ wrote:I agree that is sick and it's so sad to think that it is happening. However, if you are not going to China because of this, then you should also realize that there are quite a few other countries that you will not want to visit due to the same reason...probably including Taiwan.

I was born in TAIWAN, and there's no such thing as people eating cats. People in TAIWAN are considered animals lovers, but not in China, they even eat their own kind.

Let's be fair to everybody. Every nationality all over the world have eaten Animals, Birds, Fish and other meats as their own favorite delicacy. Am I right?

July 31, 2009 savannahlee@

hanaphillips@ wrote:YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS IS 0.WE HAVE A CIVILIZATION THAT YOU ZHONG GUO WANT. POP MUSIC YOUR YOUNG LIVE IN, AND FREEDOM. IF YOU ZHONG GUO, HATE US SO MUCH, WHY DO YOU APE US? YOUR BREEDING PROGRAMME IS KILLING THE WORLD.

Barbaric and inhumane....that sucks!!!

I won′t travel there, as long as this terrible situation lasts...Poor, poor....

Dude, we don't eat cats in Taiwan. Not anymore. There would've been a few places that did serve cats and dogs etc like 20~30 YEARS AGO. Nowadays, it’s almost non-existent (it’s a first world country for goodness sakes). While Hong Kong still has numerous outlets selling dog meat, cat meat etc. they have slowly reduced in number with a growing sense of morality among the people.

Hence its time for Mainland China to 'grow up' like Taiwan and Hong Kong.

(That's why we don’t trust mainland Chinese food products and food sold in the PRC in general. Hell, they use cardboard in dumplings and add random chemicals to food just to save money. Almost all the Mainland Chinese people I know buy only Taiwanese and Hong Kong food products.)

Sadly, it really shows what a third-world country the PRC is. Despite the glamour of the major cities near the east coast, the reality displays a China that lags DECADES BEHIND in contrast to major Asian capitals like Seoul, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo and Singapore (approx. 80% of China’s wealth goes to only 20% of the country excluding Hong Kong and Macau). Beauty is only skin deep.

SO MAINLAND CHINA, forget the barbaric ways of the ancient times and move onto a modern world.

Every day thousands of cats were transported by trucks from many cities such as Nanjing, Shanghai, jiashan, Suzhou, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Heibei, and so on to Guangzhou in small wooden cages that did not even allow them to stretch their bodies. When they reach Guangzhou, these cats are sold to the local markets and restaurants in Guangzhou, and got killed for food and fur. This mass and horrify killing and eating of cats that has been happening for many years and has reached a peak in recent years.There are some restaurants which make terrible dishes by killing cats with boiling water and even call them "water-boiled live cats". After long suffering during transportation, many cats are already injured severely or even die. Then these evil people catch them by their necks with a sharp hook, throw them roughly on to the floor and beat them with a metal stick until they are half dead. Then – horribly - they skin the cats with a special device while they are still alive. Most terrible of all, they throw the cats into a pot of boiling water before they are dead. I am very sorry to let you know this depressing story. However, these are the facts about what is happening here in my city, which claims to be the most civilized and developed city in southern China, and which will host the 2010 Asian Sports Games.

In Shanghai and many other cities where the cats come from, many people are trying to stop this stealing and shipping of cats. They are the animals right advocates and cats carers who have lost their beloved cats. Many people used to feed the cats in their houses or their local areas. But they have found that cats in their area have been disappearing rapidly. Actually the cats are stolen by bad people and shipped to the province of Guangdong where they end their lives miserably and leave their dear owners heart-broken. The damned cat nappers find the absence of the law to protect animals and take advantage of it. They pay some petty thieves to steel cats in the neighborhood. The thieves usually use a trap with a bird on top of it so as to attract cats. Once the cats get into the trap out of curiosity, they can never go out again.

Please! Stop eating cats! It's horrible! To those who say that there is no truth in this: If you look around on the internet, there is plenty of recent footage of the markets in China selling cat and dog meat. The animals are treated horribly. Snatched out of their cages by a stick with a noose at the end, kicking and fighting. Cages full of scared animals with a few dead animals mixed in. There is even footage of cats being thrown alive into boiling water. To make a type of soup referred to as "liquid cat". There has to really be something mentally wrong with people who engage in such a cruel practice. Watch the news..... These are the same people that sell us all these inferior products. Children's toys with lead paint. Pet food that kills our pets. Cheap tires that come apart while you are driving. Etc., etc., etc.. They even put chemicals in their own baby formula to cheat the testing for protein content, resulting in the deaths of some of their own children. The U.S. outsources jobs and manufacturing contracts to these people to increase profits when we need the jobs and money over here. What a disgrace!! To the scoffers, there is plenty of evidence to support that there is still cat eating going on in China and the unusually cruel and horrific treatment of these beautiful, graceful, sentient companion animals. Something needs to be done. I don't know what. Maybe we should quit sending them our jobs and quit buying all the the cheap crap they send us. For such backward behavior, they are sure making a lot of money from our country. STOP EATING CATS!!!!!!

THESE PEOPLE NEED TO STOP EATING DOGS AND CATS. I LOVE ANIMALS AND WHEN I SEE AND HEAR THINGS LIKE THIS I FEEL HELPLESS BECAUSE I CAN NOT STOP THESE PEOPLE FROM KILLING THEM. HOW CAN THESE PEOPLE GO TO SLEEP? HOW CAN THEY EAT? DO THEY FEEL GUILTY AFTER KILLING THESE POOR ANIMALS? I WONDER IF THESE PEOPLE CAN HAVE A NORMAL LIFE. I HAD CRIED SO MUCH WATCHING VIDEOS OF THE KILLINGS OF ANIMALS IN CHINA. IT IS VERY SAD. I AM VERY HAPPY TO KNOW THAT THESE KILLINGS ARE GOING TO STOP SOON BECAUSE THERE IS A NEW LAW IN CHINA THAT PROTECTS ANIMALS AND IS GOING TO BE OUT IN 2011. UNTIL THEN WE NEED TO FIGHT TO STOP THE KILLINGS OF THESE BEAUTIFUL COMPANIONS.

Ok, so some cultures eat different foods. I never heard a Muslim or Jew complain because someone eats bacon or shrimp! To expect different cultures to become like the west and start eating beef or chicken just because of a global marketplace is what is disgusting. Let each culture be each culture, and if you find it disgusting, stay at home.

These cats’ lives are worth 100 times that of the animal Chinese who kill them. You guys are so upset that the west takes advantage of your country. Well maybe it should as you guys don't value animals. Why do you feel that you should be valued any more?

mafrei2000@ wrote:Eating cats or dogs is certainly barbaric and incredibly cruel. People even eat monkeys in some places. However, in Western countries, people do eat the same rabbits for Easter festivities that kids in the same countries have as a pet. In a lot of places meanwhile, people have pigs as a pet, but only few people believe it's cruel to eat pig meat.

A steak of a deer is viewed to be a delicious meal in northern countries, although the sight of such a great animal is a very precious moment. There are even people who eat meat from bulls and cows...they call it "delicious steaks"... Are these animals not beautiful, and who has the right to judge that only "ugly" animals or animals that are "un-cute" can be eaten? Is that the same story as with the dogs and cats, or is it different?

Just to reply to your comment regarding the comparison of the cruelty of eating dogs and cats compared to say rabbits, deer and pigs which is eaten all over the world, including the Asian countries...The main difference between these animals is not because the animal is more or not as beautiful it is the ethical aspect that we have been keeping and breeding livestock such as pigs and cows for thousands of years and we have been hunting rabbits and deers since the dawn of man. The difference is that animals such as dogs and cats have been living along side humans as our companions and pets for over 30,000 years. They’ve developed a strong bond to us humans. This is something which you or anyone else can’t argue against.The animals which end up on the menu in the Asian restaurants are not only stray animals living on the streets but peoples pets as well. So this is not just animal cruelty it is a crime.The reason why people in the Asian countries still continue to eat these intelligent animals and kill them in the most horrendously cruel way by skinning them and cooking them alive is because of the myths and because they were very poor in the past. However, these countries are no longer considered to be poor as they're now one of the biggest/bigger countries in the word with an economy growing faster than anywhere else. So there is no reason for this unethical cruelty to continue. It’s uncivilized. I do think that the people who do continue to eat these animals are uneducated. That is the problem. It may be too late to change them but you will be able to change the younger generation with education in school and with reinforced laws.

cat.lover@ wrote:There are places in Taiwan where the population of stray cats is getting out of control. These cats are a great nuisance to people who live on the ground floors, because they would climb fences to defecate in people's gardens and garages and make terrible noise at midnight, on a daily basis. They survive because there are so-called "animal lovers" who live on higher floors who feed cats with garbage. Animal lovers should take cats home and raise them in a proper manner that does not create sanitary and pollution problems for neighbors. In this situation I would strongly suggest that the authorities take steps to round up stray cats to prevent them from roaming around polluting clean neighborhoods.

Just to reply to your comments regarding cats as pests on the streets.

Cats are not pests - They're the cleanest animal on earth and they're pest-controls if anything. If you take the cats off the streets you will have even worse problem with rats and mice.

Do not forget that humans are the biggest polluters in the world. So what would you like to do about that?

I think we can live alongside and respect these animals, not blame them for being cats, for being there and for untruths such as them being pests.

The best way to tackle the amount of cats building up is probably if vets in your country help by castrating some of them. This is the most humane way of tackling the problem.

dripfedfred7777@ wrote:I am curious how many of you so-called 'cat lovers' would actually eat a cat if you had a family to support, only 1 income (maybe no income), and that was not substantial enough to feed you and your child / children? Poor people survive by any means they can, even though these ways may seem barbaric to some. The drive to survive can lead people to do things they would not normally consider doing.

The problem with people eating exotic animals and pets are not created by the fact that people are too poor to feed their families any meat in China.

Guangdong is the richest province in a country which has the fastest growing economy in the world.

I think there are issues which the government can tackle in a better way.

Some poor people may be used to this from the past but it is not something to be contempt with, it is something you will need to change... If you said no to eating cats and dogs then there wouldn't be a market for it?

It is morally wrong, it's criminal and immensely cruel to let this go on in this day and age.

The Chinese people can do something about this by choosing not to eat cats and dogs and to sign petitions to your government to demand healthy foods for all people.

THIS IS DISGUSTING AND CATS ARE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES WHICH ARE GOOD NATURED AND DESERVE PROTECTION AGAINST THESE AWFUL CAT EATERS... NOT TO MENTION THE CRUELTY IT INVLOVES AS THEY SKIN AND BOIL THEM ALIVE!

mafrei2000@ wrote:Eating cats or dogs is certainly barbaric and incredibly cruel. People even eat monkeys in some places. However, in Western countries, people do eat the same rabbits for Easter festivities that kids in the same countries have as a pet. In a lot of places meanwhile, people have pigs as a pet, but only few people believe it's cruel to eat pig meat.

A steak of a deer is viewed to be a delicious meal in northern countries, although the sight of such a great animal is a very precious moment. There are even people who eat meat from bulls and cows...they call it "delicious steaks"... Are these animals not beautiful, and who has the right to judge that only "ugly" animals or animals that are "un-cute" can be eaten? Is that the same story as with the dogs and cats, or is it different?

For those out you out there, I am worried sick about my cat. It's gone!!! I can't find it. After reading this article, I am getting frustrated whether it will come back to me full or just a dish on a table.

cat.lover@ wrote:There are places in Taiwan where the population of stray cats is getting out of control. These cats are a great nuisance to people who live on the ground floors, because they would climb fences to defecate in people's gardens and garages and make terrible noise at midnight, on a daily basis. They survive because there are so-called "animal lovers" who live on higher floors who feed cats with garbage. Animal lovers should take cats home and raise them in a proper manner that does not create sanitary and pollution problems for neighbors. In this situation I would strongly suggest that the authorities take steps to round up stray cats to prevent them from roaming around polluting clean neighborhoods.

So for this reason you believe cats should be skinned and cooked alive. You're a great humanitarian.

hockeygoon69@ wrote:Ok, so some cultures eat different foods. I never heard a Muslim or Jew complain because someone eats bacon or shrimp! To expect different cultures to become like the west and start eating beef or chicken just because of a global marketplace is what is disgusting. Let each culture be each culture, and if you find it disgusting, stay at home.

I will never agree with eating cats and dogs as they are too intelligent and bond with humans in a way many other animals can't. But if China respectfully transported their dogs and cats instead of cramming several into a tiny cage with legs poking out which are then often broken when they are thrown from trucks in the village markets. And if they weren't then beaten to death or hung up and beaten or thrown into boiling water. If it could be proved that no cat or dog was stolen or picked up as a stray? If they were then caged with plenty of room prior to slaughter and then stunned with an electrical current when their time came so they are not conscious ( which is done to cows and sheep ) and if they had their throats cut quickly, then at least we could say the Chinese were doing their farming humanely. But they are not. They are skinning cats and dogs alive. Baking dogs alive in sacks literally stewing them in their juices which must be a pain I don't think any living being could bear. They are beating them ( I saw a video the other day from JiLin and it was a disgusting example of people who are animals themselves. They do everything with maximum pain and suffering. There is no comparison and this sort of inhumanity is not a cultural difference. If you can hurt like that then you have no soul. Even hunters try to get one clean shot so the animal doesn't suffer. But throwing a cat into a fryer?? Come on. It's vicious and cruel and uncaring and lacking in compassion and empathy and humanity. No comparison!! Alex from Dunedin, New Zealand

What's wrong with eating cats and dogs? People will happily eat endangered sharks, seahorses, crabs and other animals. Why make a fuss over an animal that has a surplus population? Oh wait, they are cute and fluffy, that's why!

Eat whatever animal you like as long as it's from a sustainable population and the animal is killed in a humane way. Every culture is different, beef is very yummy for most but is completely barbaric to Hindus. Who wants some seal? Disgusting to most but part of life to Eskimos.

Judge people on how they catch and kill animals, not on what animals they kill.

A woman holding a picture of a trapped cat cries as she takes part in a protest, where animal-loving residents unfurled banners urging a southern Chinese province to stop the “cruel slaughter” of cats for food, in Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec.18. (AP)